Does Telco data retention — 2 years (Part 5-1A Telecommunications Act) apply to telecommunications carriers / CSPs?

Telco data retention — 2 years (Part 5-1A Telecommunications Act). Part 5-1A of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (s 187A) requires a service provider that operates a relevant service to keep specified telecommunications data about every communication carried by the service. The data set in s 187AA covers subscriber and account information, the source and destination of a communication, its date, time and duration, the type of communication and service, and the location of equipment at the start and end of the communication.

Trigger: Operating a relevant service under s 187A(3) that carries communications for customers.

Rules Mate runs its applicability engine across 9 business structures and 6 size bands for each of the 35 industries it maps. For 34 of those industries the answer for "Telco data retention — 2 years (Part 5-1A Telecommunications Act)" is no. Telecommunications carriers / CSPs is one of the 1 where the answer is different: yes.

The deciding fact for telecommunications carriers / CSPs: Industry: Telecommunications carriers / CSPs.

About the industry: Carriers and carriage service providers under the Telecommunications Act.

Compare a professional services (general) business with 6–19 employees structured as a Pty Ltd company: the obligation does not apply (Requires industry: Telecommunications carriers / CSPs).

Each cell is the engine's outcome for a business in telecommunications carriers / csps with that structure and size, assuming it sells to consumers and small businesses and holds customer contact details. "Check" means the obligation turns on a fact the industry does not settle.

When due

Ongoing. Subscriber and account information must be kept until 2 years after the account closes; all other required data for 2 years after it came into existence (s 187C).

Evidence to keep

Data retention design mapping each s 187AA data item to the systems that create and store it; retention schedules (2 years, or 2 years after account closure); encryption and access controls over retained data; any approved data retention implementation plan or Communications Access Coordinator exemption; Privacy Act handling procedures for retained data.

Maximum penalty

Section 187A(1), and the duty to comply with an approved implementation plan (s 187D(a)), are civil penalty provisions for the purposes of the Telecommunications Act 1997, whose Parts 31 and 31B provide for pecuniary penalties and infringement notices

Regulator

ACMA

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth (national)

• Comply with Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) for standard phone services: Yes
• Comply with Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code: Yes
• Comply with the Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMs Industry Code: Yes
• Customer Service Guarantee (CSG): Yes